Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2024
Lisa Bouchet, Zachary Sager, Antoine Yrondi et al.
22 citations
Older adults (65+) account for less than 1.4% of participants in psychedelic clinical trials, despite these compounds showing potential for conditions common in this age group, such as depression, anxiety, and existential distress. A systematic review of 36 trials involving 1,400 patients found only 19 were aged 65 or older. Safety data for 10 of these older adults showed no serious adverse events; only transient mild-to-moderate effects like anxiety, gastrointestinal upset, and hypertension occurred during dosing sessions. The authors conclude that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy appears safe and well tolerated in older adults and warrants more rigorous investigation for psychiatric treatment in this population.
European Psychiatry
April 1, 2024
N. Kabir, B. Anderson, Lisa Bouchet et al.
1 citation
Older adults are severely underrepresented in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies. A systematic review of 36 studies with 1,400 patients found that only 19 participants were aged 65 or older, less than 1.4% of the total. Detailed safety data for 10 of these older adults showed no serious adverse events; only mild-to-moderate side effects such as anxiety, gastrointestinal upset, and hypertension occurred during dosing sessions. The evidence, though limited, suggests that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is safe and well tolerated in older adults and should be more rigorously studied for treating psychiatric conditions in this population.
Medecine sciences : M/S
May 1, 2025
Antoine Yrondi, Romain Rey, Linda Scoriels et al.
Anhedonia involves reduced pleasure, motivation, and reward learning, and while traditionally linked to dopamine, recent evidence indicates that immune-inflammatory changes in psychiatric disorders also contribute. Inflammation affects dopamine, glutamate, and opioid pathways, plus cellular immune responses like mTOR signaling, disrupting reward and motor circuits in the brain. This leads to anhedonia and psychomotor slowing. Animal models confirm that chronic inflammation lowers motivation, modeling anhedonia. These disruptions occur across psychotic, mood, and neurodevelopmental disorders, not just one condition. This shared dimension suggests targeted treatments may include dopaminergic drugs, glutamatergic agents like ketamine, anti-inflammatory therapies, and novel molecules.